As an early adopter of green infrastructure and Stormwater Management Incentives Program (SMIP) grant recipient, Bethesda Presbyterian's congregation blazed a trail for other faith-based organizations to follow and are committed to protecting Philadelphia’s water.

Bethesda Presbyterian Church sits on a large plot of land in Northeast Philadelphia’s Bustleton neighborhood. The church’s monthly stormwater fees—higher than they would like—reflected the property's large proportion of impervious surfaces, which put a considerable burden on the local sewers during storms. (More about how stormwater fees work here.)

Fortunately, Joan Wilson, a church elder, was determined to reduce that stormwater charge.

Rain Check—our program best known for providing City residents with free rain barrels—is entering its sixth year with a new website designed to encourage more home landscaping projects that protect local waterways.

By visiting the new Rain Check site, residents can now get a jumpstart on sustainable projects in the new year by discovering the best green upgrade for their property, right from their phone or computer.

“More than 3,500 Philly homes now have rain barrels or other green stormwater tools thanks to Rain Check, so there’s clearly an appetite for sustainable home improvement projects in our city,” says program manager and PWD employee Jeanne Waldowski. “With this new website, we’re giving people who are thinking big about ‘greening’ their home in 2018 the tools they need to make it happen.”

While free rain barrels are the most popular tool installed through Rain Check, the program also provides deep discounts on a range of green upgrades that lessen a home’s stormwater pollution footprint.

Using fresh features on the new website, homeowners can explore whether a rain barrel, planter, or more involved green upgrade—such as a rain garden or rain-absorbing back patio—is a good fit for their property. After deciding what tool is the best option for shrinking their property’s stormwater pollution footprint, residents can sign up for an upcoming workshop.

The free educational workshops, held in neighborhoods across the city, are mandatory to receive a free rain barrel or participate in Rain Check cost-sharing.

“People don’t always have time to come to one of our free Rain Check workshops just to find out that their property doesn’t qualify for a rain barrel or other green tool, so we designed the new site in a way that will help residents find out in advance what will work best on their property,” says Waldowski. “By taking a short quiz about their property, people can quickly find out if Rain Check is a good fit and what options are available.”

Qualifying projects can receive up to $2,000 through Rain Check cost-sharing.

Water stations along Kelly Drive were closed following the Phila. Marathon for winterization and will reopen in spring 2018. Credit: Laura Copeland and Frank Gaffney, Philadelphia Water Department.

Following the 2017 Philadelphia Marathon, Philadelphia Water Department crews shut down and winterized all four Schuylkill River Trail water stations located between the Falls Bridge and Fairmount Water Works. The much-used features—offering fountains, bottle filling stations and ground-level bowls for dog walkers—are taken offline each winter to guard against freezing temperatures that can cause burst plumbing.

When spring temperatures allow, Water crews will perform maintenance, flushing and testing before restoring service to the stations.

First introduced in 2016, the stations provided trail users with more than 21,000 gallons of drinking water between late April and mid-November during the 2017 season. In terms of the volume of plastic, single-use bottles kept out of the waste stream, the stations distributed enough water to fill roughly 159,100 half-liter disposable bottles.

In addition to providing free access to top-quality drinking water for daily trail users, the water stations reduced waste and litter generated by marquee events held along Philadelphia’s scenic Schuylkill River waterfront.

The Philadelphia Water Department is working with partners in the Office of Sustainability, Parks and Recreation, the School District, Public Health and other City departments to expand access to drinking water and promote Philadelphia’s top-quality water as an essential part of a healthy lifestyle.

Your Pipes Can Freeze Too!Note: Homeowners should be winterizing their plumbing, too. From shutting off outdoor hose connections to insulating basement windows near the water meter, there are number of things homeowners can do to prevent extreme cold from causing damage that a can lead to frozen pipes, flooded basements, and costly repairs. You can check out some cold-weather tips here and in the video below.

While the Philadelphia Water Department designed the Green City, Clean Watersprogram, its scope has grown far beyond PWD since being approved by state and federal environmental agencies in 2011.

As we've seen over the last six years, to really transform Philadelphia's landscape on a scale that's big enough to have a real impact on our rivers, it takes more than just Water Department crews and contractors building rain gardens.

In fact, it takes a whole city working together, not to mention supportive partners on the state and federal level.

That’s why PWD, Mayor Kenney and our partners across City government put the spotlight on community groups, nonprofits, businesses, organizations and residents when we celebrated the 1,000th Greened Acre created under Green City, Clean Waters.

The diverse group of people and organizations at the City Hall 1,000 (Green) Thank Yous celebration was a real tribute to the dedicated coalition that’s working to protect Philadelphia’s water.

Much more than a number, the 1,000 Greened Acres you helped us build represent a true transformation of our urban landscape, one that’s having a positive impact on our waterways.

Today, green tools can keep nearly 28 million gallons of polluted runoff out of our rivers during just one inch of rain—an amount that can add up to a billion gallons of stormwater and sewer overflows not going into our waterways annually.

…And for our partners in departments throughout the City of Philadelphia, like Parks and Recreation and Streets, who work alongside us to bring landscaped green features to recreation centers, sidewalks, transit stations and more…

It would take up your whole day to actually list all 1,000 of the “thank yous” we owe, but you get the idea—it takes a whole city working together to achieve the big vision that is Green City, Clean Waters.

We still have nearly two decades to go before we reach our final goal—9,564 Greened Acres by 2036—and PWD looks forward to growing and strengthening the partnerships it will take to achieve rivers and creeks that are cleaner than they’ve been in generations.

The arrival of chilly nights means it's time to make sure your pipes are protected from cold winter temps that can cause frozen or burst pipes in your home or on your property.

While most plumbing is deep enough underground or insulated well enough within your home to avoid freezing, water meters and water service lines can freeze when the temperature drops below 32 degrees in some cases. This can cause water to stop flowing or pipes to burst. Take steps before winter to protect your pipes: check out our Cold Weather Tips quick-facts here, and get more info in this video:

If your pipes freezeIf you don’t have water during extreme cold, check your pipes before calling our hotline. Many customers mistakenly assume a water main is broken when their home’s pipes freeze and spend valuable time on the phone.

Unfortunately, we cannot thaw your frozen pipes. You may have to wait for the line to thaw or call a plumber. However, if you take the proper precautions and winterize your house, you will likely be able to keep your pipes inside from freezing. Our Cold Weather Tips quick-factsalso provide info for dealing with frozen plumbing.

The first night of very cold temperatures can catch people off guard, and that can leave garden hoses or outside faucets that have been left on vulnerable to freezing and bursting. Often more than a headache and trip to the hardware store for new hose, these mishaps can cause real damage if the water continues to flow after the hose, hose bib or faucet breaks under pressure.

Avoid the risk: Just find the valve or handle that connects your inside plumbing to the outside faucet. It should be close to the spot on your wall where the outside water is accessible.

Yes, it’s impressive … but you want to know the best part? YOU did it: One rain garden, one Rain Check workshop and one Soak It Up Adoption cleanup at a time, Philly’s community groups, residents, businesses, institutions and Green City, Clean Waters partners made it possible to mark this milestone achievement—1,000 Greened Acres.

On Oct. 12 at City Hall, Mayor Jim Kenney, City officials and the Philadelphia Water Department will recognize you and all the other green champions who laid the foundation for Green City, Clean Waters and worked with us to achieve cleaner waterways for all Philadelphians.
Let us know if you'll be there + invite friends:

Thanks to your support and hard work, the green tools spread throughout our neighborhoods are soaking up nearly 28 million gallons of stormwater every time Philly gets an inch of rain.

During a typcial year of weather, that adds up to more than 1.6 billion gallons of polluted water being kept out of our rivers and creeks.

It’s a big step, but we're just getting started. To reach our goal of building 9,500+ Greened Acres and reducing sewer overflows by 85 percent by 2036, we'll need strong community advocates and green champions like you more than ever.

More than 100 sites in Germantown will be getting green improvements, much like this rain garden at the Washington Lane station, in the next two years. Residents who want to get involved should make their voices heard now. Photo: Philadelphia Water Department

The Philadelphia Water Department is hosting an open house event for residents and community groups interested in learning about dozens of green stormwater projects planned for construction in the Germantown neighborhood in the coming years.

A part of the City’s 25-year Green City, Clean Waters program, the projects are currently in the planning and design stage and include green stormwater tools such as rain gardens and stormwater tree planters.
The event will take place at the Happy Hollow Recreation Center, located at 4800 Wayne Avenue, on Tuesday, October 3. Residents are invited to stop by between 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., and refreshments will be served.Those who register here will get notifications about future events highlighting Germantown projects.

With construction of the earliest projects approximately two years away, the Department’s public engagement staff are hosting the open house-style event to gather input from residents and build awareness of the coming green improvements. As is the case at other Green City, Clean Waters investment sites around the city, future community meetings will be scheduled as projects move forward.

Green tools like rain gardens, tree trenches and bumpouts are being designed for local streets and other spaces and will capture stormwater runoff coming down the streets in Germantown while adding new green spaces. Construction for these projects will start in approximately two years, and we'll be holding community meetings to provide updates and get input from neighbors.